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☆ Debt ceiling crisis hangs over markets, with investors hoping to avoid a repeat of 2011
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Matthew J. Belvedere | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Republicans, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, want to attach spending cuts to any agreement to raise the debt ceiling. Biden and the Democrats say they are willing to talk about spending cuts but only outside the debt ceiling discussions. Raising the debt ceiling would allow the government to pay for spending that has already occurred. That year, the debt ceiling was raised at the last minute but not before a summer of bickering sent the S & P 500 down 17% from late July to mid-August. The market this past week stumbled with the debt ceiling deadline looming and over concern about regional bank failures.

☆ Good news for markets next week. Everyone agrees the debt ceiling 'X-date' is not here yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Good news for markets next week: no default, no credit agency downgrade, no apocalypse. Worrying 2011 precedent Recent history tells investors that stocks will move more violently during a debt ceiling standoff. Retail sales update Debt negotiations aside, investors get updates next week on the state of American consumer spending when April retail sales are reported Tuesday alongside earnings from Home Depot. Deutsche Bank estimates that April retail sales expanded month over month by 0.7%, the market consensus. Credit Suisse is less optimistic, forecasting that April retail sales grew by 0.6%, but, excluding vehicles, were unchanged.

☆ KLA Corp forecasts upbeat fourth-quarter on robust demand for chip tools
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Chip tools maker KLA Corp (KLAC.O) forecast fourth-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, riding on plans by chipmakers to expand production and build new factories in Europe and the United States. Chipmakers are scrambling to boost capacity and tool makers including KLA and Applied Materials (AMAT.O) will gain from this. KLA makes tools for inspecting the silicon wafer discs, on which semiconductors are built, for defects. KLA forecast current-quarter revenue between $2.13 billion and $2.38 billon, compared to analysts' estimates of $2.17 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Revenue in the third quarter ended March 31 rose 6.3% to $2.43 billion, beating estimates of $2.38 billion.

☆ Lam Research forecasts lower quarterly revenue as China export curbs weigh
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - Chip-making equipment supplier Lam Research Corp (LRCX.O) forecast lesser-than-expected June-quarter revenue on Wednesday, as U.S. restrictions on sale of certain technology to China and weakness in the semiconductor market weigh on the business. Wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) makers Lam Research, KLA Corp (KLAC.O) and Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O), have said their 2023 revenue projections are likely to be hit between $600 million and $2.5 billion due to the export restrictions. Lam Research, whose shares dropped 2.2% after-market, forecast June-quarter revenue at $3.1 billion, plus or minus $300 million, lower than analysts' projection of $3.47 billion, according to Refinitiv. Lam Research cut 7% of its workforce in January and had projected WEF spending is likely fall to mid-$70 billion range this year from mid-$90 billion in 2022. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The most overbought S&P 500 stocks include one fast food giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The S & P 500 rose about 0.8% this week, notching its fourth weekly advance in five weeks. However, the S & P 500's steady run of late made several stocks overbought. CNBC Pro screened for S & P 500 stocks in overbought territory, based on their relative strength index. Too oversold CNBC Pro also searched for oversold S & P 500 stocks that could be due for a bounce. Qorvo shares have lagged the S & P 500 this year, advancing just 3.2%.

☆ Morgan Stanley's Slimmon names 'attractively priced' stocks to beat the economic uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Morgan Stanley's Andrew Slimmon expects an economic slowdown in the U.S. will happen later than many have predicted. And I think that's when we will hit a slowdown and I suspect it's coming later than what many people have been predicting," said the senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Here's what investors can buy and avoid in the face of that uncertainty, according to Slimmon. Be wary of 'very large' stocks He said he would be particularly cautious on "very large" stocks right now, referring to FAANG — Facebook (now Meta ), Amazon , Apple , Netflix and Google (now Alphabet ). "It's not a cheap stock, but to me, that's a defensive stock that you want to own in this environment as well."

☆ Software giant Oracle and five consumer names are among Wall Street’s most overbought stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A stock is considered overbought if its 14-day RSI goes above 70, meaning investors should consider easing their exposure. Meanwhile, a stock with a 14-day RSI under 30 is considered oversold, meaning it may want more to that name. CNBC Pro screened for S & P 500 stocks in overbought territory, based on their relative strength index. Oracle topped the list with a 14-day RSI of 95.6. FRC 1M mountain FRC this past month Other stocks approaching oversold territory are Charles Schwab , Digital Realty , Applied Materials , AMD , C.H.

☆ Factbox: The Japanese chipmaking equipment manufacturers navigating export curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some of Japan's leading manufacturers of tools used to make semiconductors. In October-December, its chip equipment sales in China fell 22.3% from a year earlier to 102.7 billion yen, accounting for 22.4% of its total chip equipment sales in the quarter. SCREEN HOLDINGS CO LTD (7735.T)Screen is the world's largest manufacturer of equipment used to clean silicon wafers. The company expects shipments to China to make up 20% of chipmaking equipment sales of 375 billion yen for the year to March. About 40% of sales from its lithography machines business, which combines semiconductor lithography and flat panel display lithography equipment, is generated in China.

☆ Here's how to spot a good growth stock, according to one fund manager
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Growth stocks have been enjoying a rebound after a miserable 2022. And the tech sector in particular — a favorite among investors seeking exposure to growth stocks — has been a bright spot amid the banking turmoil. "As a growth manager … one of the things we're trying to think about is, how do you identify good growth businesses?" He said one of the biggest risks of growth investing is paying too much today for future growth. Future growth is very difficult to predict, he said, adding that historical growth isn't particularly indicative of future growth.

☆ U.S. seeks to prevent China from benefiting from $52 billion chips funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Flags of China and U.S. are displayed on a printed circuit board with semiconductor chips, in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/IllustrationWASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday released proposed rules to prevent $52 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research funding from being used by China and other countries deemed of concern. This measure covers chips "including current-generation and mature-node chips used for quantum computing, in radiation-intensive environments, and for other specialized military capabilities." The Commerce Department plans to begin accepting applications in late June for a $39-billion semiconductor manufacturing subsidy program. The Commerce Department on Tuesday said it would reinforce those controls by aligning prohibited technology thresholds for memory chips between export controls and CHIPS national security guardrails and include "a more restrictive threshold for logic chips than is used for export controls."

☆ Applied Materials announces new $10 bln share buyback plan, hikes dividend
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 13 (Reuters) - Applied Materials (AMAT.O), which makes equipment to produce chips, said on Monday that its board has approved a new $10 billion share repurchase scheme, and also raised its quarterly dividend. Applied Materials said its board also approved a 23% increase in its quarterly dividend, the largest in five years, to 32 cents per share, up from 26 cents per share. The semiconductor industry has been facing a downturn in demand for chips used in personal computers and mobile devices, although, in a bright spot, demand from data center and automotive sectors has been steady. Last month, Applied Materials forecast quarterly revenue that was largely above analysts' expectations as it benefited from resilient demand for its tools used to make chips for the automotive and artificial intelligence industries. Applied Materials said its services business has become larger and more subscription-based helping its revenue and profitability become more predictable.

☆ Where Paul Wick, seasoned tech stock investor, is raising his bets now
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

So when a position opened up at the Seligman Communications and Information fund, the firm's then-chief investment officer asked Wick to take it over. Today, the Columbia Seligman Technology and Information fund (CCIZX) that Wick began running on New Year's Day in 1990, has $8.5 billion in assets under management. "It's really hard to guess how will the technology industry change in five years. By now, Wick has relationships going back decades in the tech industry. As of January, the Technology and Information fund held 2.96% of its assets in Bloom, up from 2.36% in October.

☆ Some of Wall Street's top commentators fear a recession is at hand as rates set to go higher for longer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, Jerome Powell reiterated his warning that the Fed's more than ready to keep jacking up rates if necessary. Inflation hasn't gone away as easily as policymakers want, and Powell thinks that may just warrant a steeper policy path. That's not the most reassuring assessment of the situation as some of the biggest commentators in markets are saying a recession is right around the corner. The exec also broke down how to use the strategy in today's stock market to make extremely cheap bets that garner "through the roof" returns. Fannie Mae's Home Purchasing Sentiment Index dropped this week while mortgage rates moved higher.

☆ Analysis: China's chip sector needs more than state money to dull impact of US restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Josh Horwitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The government has earmarked $140 billion that could include subsidising the purchase of domestically produced chipmaking equipment, Reuters reported in December, likely benefiting manufacturers such as China's sole semiconductor lithography specialist, Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group (SMEE). Just as in the aviation industry, chipmaking equipment manufacturers work closely with clients, offering long-term services including installation, calibration, maintenance and repair of machines that can cost over $100 million each. Another former top staffer at a Chinese chipmaking equipment manufacturer recounted how while working to master the etching procedure for 3D NAND Flash, the company could not perfect a critical element, namely the channel hole, or hole size. The situation could be worsened for Chinese companies should Japan and the Netherlands agree with the United States to also restrict exports of chipmaking equipment to China. "When the sanctions came out, all the American companies followed," an engineer at a Chinese memory chipmaker told Reuters.

☆ Factbox: Chinese chipmaking equipment manufacturers filling void left by U.S. export restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Naura's most advanced etching machine supports 55 nm and 28 nm chipmaking technology, well behind the leading edge of chip manufacturing. The firm also makes deposition machines, which apply chemicals and gases to silicon wafers throughout the chipmaking process. It produces machines that can service the 14 nm to 28 nm process nodes of its deposition machines. ADVANCED MICRO-FABRICATION EQUIPMENT INC CHINA (AMEC) (688012.SS)AMEC makes etching equipment used to remove excess material from the surface of silicon wafers. BEIJING E-TOWN SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY CO LTD (BEST)BEST produces degumming equipment used to remove photoresist chemicals during the lithography process.

☆ Three-Stock Lunch: AMAT, TSLA and EQT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThree-Stock Lunch: AMAT, TSLA and EQTAri Wald, managing director & head of technical analysis at Oppenheimer, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss three stocks making big moves today: Applied Materials, Tesla, and EQT Corp.

☆ These are the highest quality stocks in the S&P 500 that could win in this volatile market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Quality stocks are about to outperform this year, according to Bank of America. Against such a backdrop, equity strategist Savita Subramanian at Bank of America advised investors to own high quality stocks — specifically stocks with a rated high quality by S & P. A basket of such stocks outperformed low quality stocks by 1.2% in February. "Tailwinds for Low Quality from fiscal and monetary stimulus are now over, and we recommend owning High Quality stocks," she added. To be sure, Subramanian said that while high quality shares are still lagging low quality shares year-to-date, the bank anticipates the economy entering a downturn, during which quality factors have typically outperformed. With this in mind, CNBC screened for stocks in the S & P 500 that had the highest quality rating of A+ as determined by S & P Global Market Intelligence.

☆ Applied Materials unveils new chip tool to lower cost in lithography process
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb 28 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley-based Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O), among the most important makers of tools for chip manufacturing, said on Tuesday it has started selling a new tool that can lower the cost of a process involving lithography. Lithography uses light to print a pattern on the wafer, the shiny round discs used for chip making. This is especially true with the latest lithography tool by Dutch tool maker ASML (ASML.AS), called EUV, which stands for extreme ultraviolet, the wavelength of light used. Applied Materials' new tool, called Centura Sculpta, is used to shine a light only once for the first pattern and sculpt the final pattern from that. Applied Materials in a statement quoted chip maker Intel Corp (INTC.O) as saying that it collaborated closely in the "optimization of Sculpta" and would be using the technology.

☆ Top Wall Street analysts expect these stocks to thrive despite macro pressures
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

To help with the process, here are five stocks chosen by Wall Street's top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their track records. Drbul reiterated a buy rating on Walmart and a price target of $165. He reiterated a buy rating and increased his price target to $175 from $155. Following the fourth-quarter results, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh reiterated a buy rating and "Top Pick" designation on CHEF, with a price target of $48. Power maintained a buy rating on Datadog and a $100 price target.

☆ These are Wall Street's favorite chip stocks, including one expected to rally more than 30%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

It might be time to look for buying opportunities in a beaten-down part of the tech sector: semiconductor stocks. Chip stocks have been under pressure from supply chain disruptions sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic. This, along with the recent push toward artificial intelligence technology, has boosted chip stocks in early 2023. The average analyst price target on the stock implies the most upside of any name on the list at 33%, FactSet data shows. He also hiked his price target on Analog Devices to $230 per share from $215.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: DraftKings, DoorDash, Deere, Roku and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The company reported a loss of 53 cents per share on revenue of $855 million. Deere & Company — Shares advanced 3% after Deere exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines in its latest quarter. Roku jumped 11% Thursday after the company reported a smaller-than-expected loss in its latest quarter. The company reported a 57 cent per share loss on $480 million of revenue. It reported revenue of $1.01 billion, below the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion.

☆ Applied Materials forecasts strong Q2 as chipmakers scale up production
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Chip tools maker Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O) on Thursday forecast second-quarter revenue broadly above market estimates, as it benefits from higher production of semiconductors that had been in short supply for the most of last year. After a global shortage of semiconductors affected everything from smartphones to car production, chipmakers are now scrambling to boost capacity in the United States and Europe and reduce reliance on Asian hubs. The company forecast current-quarter revenue of $6.40 billion, plus or minus $400 million, compared with analysts' average estimate of $6.29 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Revenue for the first quarter was $6.74 billion, compared with analysts' average expectation of $6.69 billion. Excluding items, the company earned $2.03 per share, beating estimates of $1.93 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

☆ Why Boris Schlossberg favors Applied Materials on a long-term basis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhy Boris Schlossberg favors Applied Materials on a long-term basisBoris Schlossberg, BK Asset Management managing director of FX strategy, joins ‘Power Lunch’ to discuss his take on John Deere, DoorDash and Applied Materials.

☆ Morning Bid: Growth trumps rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

While there were some questions about seasonal adjustments in the data, economists were impressed that sales growth was pretty broad based and have scrambled to re-crunch first quarter U.S. output forecasts as a result. There may be a more mixed picture from Thursday's data slate on producer prices, housing starts and weekly jobless claims. Even though rates futures and Treasury yields ticked back a bit today, pricing now has Fed policy rates moving as high as 5.25% and staying above 5% all year. And while full-year earnings growth estimates for S&P500 companies have sunk to zero, consensus forecasts are now pencilling in a rebound of almost 12% next year. Uncertainty about the pace of growth and annual tax receipts in April makes it difficult for government officials to predict the exact "X-date", it said.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: DoorDash, Applied Materials, DraftKings and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Reported losses, however, were greater than analysts' projections, coming in at a per-share loss of $1.65 versus analysts' estimates of 68 cents. Revenue came in at $1.01 billion, missing analysts' estimates of $1.02 billion. DraftKings — The sports betting company's shares gained 6% after its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue exceeded analysts' estimates. Applied Materials — The semiconductor company's stock added about 2% after Applied Materials posted its latest results. Revenue was $6.74 billion in the same quarter, beating analysts' estimates of $6.69 billion.

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